Day 7: Meditation Challenge - Calling In the Sacred

Welcome, to my 28-Meditation Challenge.

If you have joined us late, that is just fine. If you'd like to "officially" join in, simply leave a comment here that says, "I'm in!" and I will add you to the Challenge Roster. Or, send me an e-mail through the Contact Box at my website: awakenedliving.com. You may want to catch up by reading the previous posts. We are glad you are here!


Each day we come here, even if we have not meditated as we'd hoped, we begin again.


Start where you are ... 

Today is Saturday or Sunday, depending on where you are in the world. And for many people, these days are Sabbath days. A special time to put aside our labors, rest, connect with our loved ones, and commune with self and Spirit.

I wonder. In terms of meditation, do you consider your unfolding meditation practice to be "sacred"? Is it part of a set of religious beliefs or spiritual practices?

For me, it is. As I've stated here, my meditation practice is sourced in the breath—which is a manifestation of Spirit. I posted on this on Day 2 of the Challenge. I stop and connect with my breath throughout my day, so quite often I do feel as if I am communing with the Divine when I am breathing consciously.

My other meditation practice is metta—a Buddhist form of lovingkindness meditation. I have written much about metta on this blog and will post on it more in the next few weeks. (For now, see Resources below.)

Whatever form of meditation you choose, no matter what spiritual tradition(s) you embrace, are you aware that there are millions of others like yourself doing the same thing—or something different? Yet, it's all meditation.

Lisa Erickson, creator of the blog Mommy Mystic, is a meditation teacher as well as the Buddhism Editor at Bella Online. She penned an enlightening piece for her blog, "Meditation Within ALL the World's Religions." She began:

"Many people associate meditation with Far Eastern religions like Buddhism and Hinduism, and don’t realize that there are also many forms of Judeo-Christian meditation, as well as meditations from other faiths. Below is an overview of meditation as it is generally viewed within each major religion, and links to resources ..."

For example, "In Hinduism, meditation is considered part of yoga practice...

In Kabbalah, often called Jewish mysticism, a form of meditation called ‘hitbonenut’, which involves contemplating a concept or light itself ...

The Sufis within Islam incorporate both energy center and devotional meditation to merge with the ‘beloved divine’ responsible for life itself ..."

As a former teacher of World Religions and, now, an Interfaith Spiritual Director/Mentor, I thrill at the thought of interfaith dialogue and understanding. My highest hope is that we will truly accept one another, no matter what spiritual path we choose. "One river, many wells," as Matthew Fox wrote. "Conversion" is not in my vocabulary. We are One, each expressing the Divine in her or his unique way.

So, today, in honor of the Sabbath, I invite you to read the rest of Lisa's wonderful article and open your heart to a new understanding of how we are, indeed, One—especially in terms of meditation as a spiritual practice. Click here to read more. 

In celebration of the Sabbath, I'd also like to encourge you to explore this sacred breath practice, courtesy of my dear friend, Ingrid Goff-Maidoff at Tending Joy.  In her lovely, handmade book, Honey Sutras: Soul Wisdom from the Birds and the Bees, she presents poetic mantras which are perfect for meditation.

This is one of my favorites:

"In the morning when you awake,

breathe in peace, breathe out love.

At the market, on the street,

breathe in peace, breathe out love.

Among friends and even strangers,

breathe in peace, breathe out love.

In the afternoon, walking or sitting,

breathe in love, breathe out joy.

In the evening before retiring, 

breathe in joy, breathe out thanks."

This day, may you connect with the Sacred within you. Believe, breathe and be well!

And, as always, I welcome your thoughts ... especially about how you are doing with this Challenge.

Blessings,

Jan

Read on ...

From Where I Sit — Day 7, My Meditation Experience

Yesterday I took many meditative moments throughout the day, to sit, and listen and breathe. In the evening, I listened to Day 2 of the Sit-a-Long with Jundo. What fun! I also "sat" after that for an additional 5 minutes.
   
Recommended Resources:
Since last April, I have been penning "Meditation Mondays" here at this blog. If you are looking for more types of meditative practices to explore, visit the archives and you will find plenty there to quench your palate. Here is one of my favorite Meditation Monday posts. It is a metta practice. Click here and enjoy!

Inspiration:
What do we mean when we speak of a truly compassionate kindness? Compassion is essentially concern for others' welfare—their happiness and their suffering. Others wish to avoid misery as much as we do. So a compassionate person feels concerned when others are miserable and develops a positive intention to free them from it.

~His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, from Stages of Meditation